Seminar in International Economics: The Political Consequences of Green Policies: Evidence from Italy (Hybrid event)

The Competence Centre for International Economics Research (FIW) kindly invites to participate in the Seminar in International Economics on the topic

The Political Consequences of Green Policies: Evidence from Italy

Italo Colantone
Bocconi University

Wednesday, 5th of October 2022, 3:30 p.m. (CET)
Attention: the date has been changed (formerly October 6 at 14:30)

Venue:
On-site: wiiw, Rahlgasse 3, 1060 Vienna or
Online: via Zoom

Registration link for on-site participation:
https://wiiw.ac.at/the-political-consequences-of-green-policies-evidence-from-italy-hybrid-event-er-585.html

Registration link for online participation:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GIiwYEHaT3-QquFNPQItLw

For participating in discussion at the Q&A session better, we highly recommend on-site particiaption.

The presentation is based on a paper co-authored with Livio Di Lonardo, Yotam Margalit and Marco Percoco.

Abstract:
For many governments enacting green policies is a priority, but these often entail substantial and uneven costs on citizens. How does the introduction of green policies affect voting? We study this question in the context of a major ban on polluting cars introduced in Milan. The policy was strongly opposed by the right-wing populist party Lega, portraying it as a “radical-chic-leftist” initiative penalizing common people. We show that owners of banned vehicles—who incurred a median loss of €3,750—were significantly more likely to vote for Lega in the subsequent elections. This electoral shift does not stem from increased environmental skepticism, but rather from the perceived unfairness of the policy and its pocketbook implications. In fact, recipients of compensation from the local government were not more likely to switch to Lega. The findings underscore that addressing the distributive consequences is key for advancing green policies that are politically sustainable.

The seminar series is organised by the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) in co-operation with FIW, the Centre of Competence in International Economics. The seminar provides a forum for presentation and discussion of recent academic research in the field of international economics.